Muhammad City?

Mr Pipes writes: "In Brussels, "Muhammad" has for some years been the most popular name given to infant boys"

The official list confirms this: http://statbel.fgov.be/figures/d22a_fr.asp?r=8 (you may need to hit "reload" to get the table to format correctly)

However, lower down the page we read this qualification: "Dans beaucoup de familles islamiques, il est habituel de donner comme prénom "Mohamed" au premier fils venant à naître; cette tradition explique la grande fréquence de ce prénom dans la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale." ie "in many Islamic families it is usual to give the name "Mohamed" to the first-born male; this explains the high frequency of this name etc. "

There is no corresponding "grande fréquence" in any obviously Islamic girl's name (click on the link "filles" in "Région de Bruxelles-Capitale : filles et garçons"). Indeed, the number one name is Sarah, followed by Lina; then it becomes Islamic (Yasmine, Aya, Rania(?)).

So Brussels is not quite wall-to-wall Muslim yet. Though "Mohammed" tops the charts for all covered years, we can find some comfort in the fate of "Oussama", position 48 in 2000, rising ominously to 22 in 2001, but declining to 90 in 2003, with no instances thereafter.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Comment on this item

Name:

Email Address: (optional)

Title of Comments:

Comments:

Mark my comment as a response to Muhammad City? by Bill

Email me if someone replies to my comment

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".